Quoth the raven

I take attendance by having the students answer a question.

Quoth the raven, "_______________."

• Join Bird Club!
• 'sup
• Hi, how are you?
• suh dude
• I can fly.
• Can I fly?
• Fantastic!
• hey wassup hello
• nooooooooooooooooo

Many followed the reference but with variations:

• n3v3rmor3 xD
• never ever never no matter what forever (more)
• not the "n-word"!
• NEVER EVER MORE, EXCEPT SOMETIMES MAYBE
• "Quoth the raven, "Quoth the raven, " ... " " "
• What, the poem by Edgar Allen Poe? The super dark one? :(

I appreciated the close-quotes which matched on the recursive answer. The most popular answer was, of course, the simple "nevermore".

Many people picked onomatopoeia:

• caw
• woot
• hey
• cacaw
• yo
• yo yo
• chirp
• KAA KAA
• Squahk

Today's winner was:

"A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile. And I knew if I had a chance that I could make those people dance and maybe they'd be happy for awhile. [piano]* And February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver. Bad news on the doorstep I couldn't take one more..."

* pronounced "bracket piano bracket" 

-- I promise I'm listening to the lecture.

This post's theme word is frowsty, "musty; having a stale smell." The frowsty classic poem was rejuvenated by students' colorful edits.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

I take attendance by having the students answer a question.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

• for an insurance scam
• Caged animals have no freedom in 'murica.
• Her mission is classified.
• Why not?
• Because it's entitled to do so.
• To sing Adele's "Hello (from the other side)"
• the other chicken
• to find his home

It's clear that students have food-as-motivation on their minds. It was a popular theme:

• probably food
• b/c there was food?
• to get Chinese food

If not food, then they have deeper existential questions:

• intention
• What is a bird?
• to find purpose in its life
• to run away from its problems
• The road is a metaphor. The chicken is not.
• Why not?
• Why didn't the chicken cross the road?
• Death is an illusion.

And also darker and more pessimistic interpretations:

• To die by its own choice.
• It was an exorcism.
• "NOTHING IS WRITTEN!!" (<-- future="" lawyer="" li="" possible="">
• or else I would've killed it.
• It has accepted its mortality.

And today's honorary brownnoser award goes to, "because it wanted to go to algorithms class."


This post's theme word is malinger, "to feign illness in order to avoid work." That malingering chicken, always visiting the across-the-road doctor and never clocking in to the same-side-of-the-road henhouse!